Machine for use in the building of storage batteries



Sept. 23, 19.30. s. A. SENTKOWSKI MACHINE FOR USE IN THE BUILDING OFSTORAGE BATTERIES Filed Oct. 17, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 n I I4 M\ m M HMMEMEE E Emm- Q Sept; 23, 1930.

G. A. SENTKOWSKI ET L MACHINE FOR use IN THE BUILDING OF STORAGEa'wrsnms Filed Oct. 1'7, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS ATTORNEYS ASept. 23, 1930. a. A. SENTKOWSKI ETA!- 1,776,327

"ADKINS FOR USE IN THE BUILDING OF STORAGE BATTERIES Filed Oct. 17, 19285 Sheets-Sheet 3 I7: #622211; 6 car a A- San flaws/fa Airs 12750 S ntAau slz' Sept. 23, 1930. a. A. SENTKOWSKI ET AL 3 ACHINE FOR USE IN THEBUILDING 0F STORAGE BATTERIES Filed Oct. 17, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 4INVENTOR Gear i. 5 e7! tAaunsyfz fldeyan der SmtAvars/(z ATT-ORNEYSSept. 23, 1930. G. A. SENTKOWSKI ET AL 1,775,327

MACHINE FOR USE IN THE BUILDING OF STORAGE BATTERIES Filed Oct, 17, 19285 Sheets-Sheet 5 JNVENTORX a eaye A .5 en t'lawslz' an der Sen tAaw-s Kcfl e A TTORNEYS Patented Sept. 23, 1930 f 'qnon en A snivrxowsxrnlvnALEXANDER snn'rxowsxr, for 'nrzrn'ortr, MICHIGAN I Macrame ron USE INTHE BUrLn Ne or sroRAer: 'im'r'rnnms A pp1icat ion fi1ed October17,1928. Serial No."-313,9 82.

3 This; invention relates generally toma- ,7 chines for use in thebuilding ofstorage' batteries and refers more particularly to a machine"for assembling battery plates and for connecting a binding post to saidplates.

' Inthe building or rebuilding of storage batteries, it has been thepractice to weld oer; stain "sets of plates together and then secure abinding post thereto by a separate operation.

These operations are not"v only costly but'require considerable time andlabor. It is therefore the primary. object of the present invention toreduce "both the expense and laborof these operationsby providing a machine, which not only eliminatesthe welding operation, but permitstheplates to be secured together and the bindingpost to be connected totheplates in a single operation.

Afuither obj ect'is to provide a machine to taking care of differenttypes and'sizes of plates and for'forming binding posts of dif-. ferentdiameters. r

IWith the above and other objects in view, theinvention consists incertain novel features of construction, combinations and arrangements ofparts as will be more fully described and particularly pointed out inthe appended claims. f

In the accompanying drawings I Figure lis a side elevation of a'machinemade in accordance with the presentinven- Figure 2 is a top plan viewthereof? Figure 3 is aperspective View of the receptacle for receiving,the battery plates with the mold and support therefor detachedtherefrom;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the battery platespositioned within the receptacle with onset the mold sections positionedabove theplates;

7 Figures 5 and 6 are views of the bottom andv top positioning platesrespectively Figure '7 is a disassembled view ofone of the moldsectionsa nd the bottom block therefor Figure 8 is a disassembledview of the aother mold section withits bottom block;

Figure 9 is a detail of a half bushing adapted to be applied to one ofthe mold sec.- 1 time; i Hi 1 in 1 Figure .10 is an adaptor for thebushing section shown in Figure9; .1. Figure 11 is a fragmentary view"of a set of battery plates with the top portions ofithe fin ersbentover. 4' T (xener'ally our machine comprises a box-y like receptaclewithin which a, plurality of separate battery plates are adapted ,to be.securely" clamped in spacedrela'tion to each other and above which ismovably supported, a pair-of mold sections-which are adapted to bemovedtogether toform a complete mold directly above the usual upstandingearsor flanges of the plates. With the parts'arranged in this position,molten metal such as lead, is poured into, the mold, the arrange.- mentbeing such that the metal will flow be.- tween the top portions oftheplate'flanges. securely connecting theplates together and at the sametime r'orming the binding post for said plates. 7

receptacle 1 having side walls 2 and 3 respectively, an end wall 4rigidly secured between theside walls and a hinged end wall5 adapted tobe opened to the'position shown in Figure 4:; for-facilitating theplacing ofa number of battery plates6 within the receptacle. Theseplates may be either positive or negative plates of a battery which isin the process of being built or rebuilt and are adapted to be.correctly spaced within the receptacle by means of the bottom and topspacingplates 7 and 8 respectively. 1

As clearly shown in Figure 5, the bottom plate. is provided with aplurality of spaced blocks 9 between which the lower edges of thebatteryplates are adapted to be positioned. Projecting'upwardl-y fromthe center group of blocks 9, are rods 10 which-further facilitate thepositioning of'thebatteryplates in the receptacle. The to plate 8 islikewise provided with a pl-urallty of spaced bars or blocks 11 adaptedto he slipped 'over'the top portions of the plates as clearly shown inFigure 4 of the drawings. If desirable, one of eachof the blocks 9 and11 may be provided with cooperating hook members 12 between resilientlyurging the top and bottom plates toward each other to insure. theretention of ,c the plates in spaced relation to each other.

After the plates 7 and 8 have been positioned with respect to thebattery plates, the hinged end or door 5, is moved to its closedposition "and a latch member '13 pivotally mounted upon a bolt 14isadapted to be moved fit therewith suflicient to prevent molten tooperative position with its free end en: gaging a'fsecond bolt 15, thesetwo bolts being threaded into the side walls 2 and 3 respectively. Athird b'olt16 positioned cen trally'of the latch 13 isadaptedtoberotated so that its inner end will engage the door 5 and-move thesame into clamping position against the ends of the battery plates."With "thi's arrangement," the battery plates are securely clampedwithin the receptaclel. Detachably secured to the receptacle 1 is a moldsupport 17 'consisting of spaced yoke members 1 8 having longitudinalportions 19 V threaded'bolts 21f. The end portions of these yokesareenlarged 'andapertured to form suitable bearings 22 for, receivingshafts 23 'engageable in grooves 20 formed in the upper portionsof thewalls2 and 3 respectively and secured in' position by means of suitableand 24. Each shaft is" provided with reversely' threaded portions uponwhich are mounted mold sections 25 and 26 respectively which uponrotation of the shafts, are adapted to 'be moved toward or away I fromone I another.

Any suitable means maybe provided for accom'plishing this movementand'in the present instance we have provided pinions 27 meshing with anintermediate gear 28mounted upona shaft 29 and adapted to be rotatedby'the handle 30. 1 p f p 'Themold'sections are provided withsubstantially semi circul'ar recesses 31and32 respectively which cooperate to form an annular chamber adapted to receive molten metal forforming'a'binding post, v Themold sections are provided with bottomblock's 33a'nd 34 respectively, block 34 having a rectangular re--cessed portion 35 communicating with the re-,

re ae-"by means-of-acut away portion'36.

Block33'is also recessed and communicates with'the'recess31 by means ofa cut away por-' tion 37 The base of the portion of the block 33' isprovided with a plurality ofspaced fingers' 38, the purpose of whichwillbe' presently described. 1 Halfbushings 39 are adapted tobe insertedin each of the recesses 31 and 32 rnold'sections to move together? As:the 'sec-" "tion 31 travels toward the battery plates the fingers 33will move between the upwardly projecting tongues 40 of the plates, thewhole arran ement bein such that as the on osed faces of the sectionsmeet,thev tongues of the battery plates will be entirely received with}in the spacesbetweenthe fingers 38Vand will abut against the inner endportions thereof,

The device is furthermore so constrncted that the tongues are adapted toextend substantially a quarter of an ineh above the top faces of thefingers and to also have a snug metal from flowing thercbetweeni'VVith'the mold sections thus tightly'sec'fured together,

molten metal such as lead is adapted to be poured into the annularopening formed by .the fingers, the metal will securely" connect theplates'together andiwill at the same time, form "the binding-post forthis particular set of battery plates; After the-metal has cooled andhardened sufiicientlyfthe handle is actuated to separate the moldsections whereupon the pl'atesimay be removed from the ,receptacle, anew set of plates inserted" and the above operation repeated;

In inserting "a set of battery plates the receptacle the mold supportand mold sec tions may be removed'from the receptacle by unscrewing thebolts 21 and liftingthe 'yokes 18 out of the grooves 20 therebydisengagingthe pinions. 27 from thegear 28; It should bestatedthat thegear 28, shaft 29 "and 'handle30 are mounted as a unit in a support 41which is in turn removably supported upon a-ho'rizontal stand 42projecting outwardly -from the end plate 4of the receptacle; The support41 is removably positioned upon the stand 42 by Ineansof'faste lingmeans43;

It should furthermore'jbe stated that if the same type ofbatteryplatesare to be inserted as the ones previously operated mold.supportfrom the top of the receptacle and that the platesmay be placedwithin the box by openinglthe door '5, looseningbolts 44 and permittingtheSides 2 and 3 to swing upwardly awayv from the base of thereceptacleabout the pivot 45. After the plates have been positioned upon the baseOitll) receptacle, the parts can be assembled inthe manner abovedescribed and the plates seupon, it will be-unnecessary to removethecurely clamped in position. If it should happen that a set ofbatteryplates are shorter than standard, this canbe remedied" byinsert'ing a'plate (not shown) beneath the bottom plate 'Z so that thefingers 40 will extend the required distance above the tongues 38. Itshould furthermore be'stated that our machine is adapted to receivebattery plates tongues 40.. Ifit'should happen that the j tongues of aset of platesare located inter- --media'te the ends, it will" only benecessary .to removev the ,boltsQ-l and slidetheyokes .18

inzthe grooves 'to'thenew position. The] regardless of the' position Aofthe upstanding 1 7 ,bolt' holes are so positioned. :with' respect to 3we have provided adapters48 which may be fitted within the halfbushingsi39 in the event the bindingipost istobe of a smaller diamthemoldsections thatwhen the mold sections xare'moved to operativeposition, the fingers 38' ofthe block -33-will correctly engage the:tonguesof-theplates so that'it will onlygbef necessary for the person"operating the machine to effect anadjustment of the mold support tozone or the otherofthe aforesaid positions' 7 It-will of course,beapparent thatour ma- .chine maybe supported upon any suitable "stand andin the-present instance we have shown a pedestal lfl' having a flatsupporting surface-417 upon which the receptacle 'is adaptedto bepositioned during the molding operation. .Itwillfurthermore-be notedthat 'eter than usual.

In Figure 11, we have shown a fragmen v tary view of asetofbatteryplates in which thetop portions of the fingers have been bentover before insertionof the plates in the Ireceptacle."Thiswillof'course effect a better bond between the plates and moltenmetal and the operator may treat each set of plates in this manner if heso desires, as it-will not in the least, interfere withthe operation ofthe lnOlClISeCtlOHS. It should be stated however, that a very good bondmaybe obtained Without bending the plates and that this additional stepis not essential in assembling the plates. I I i From,theforegoingitwill be readily apf parent that we have provided a novel:form .of'inachin'e for assembling battery plates in which molten metalis utilized for forming a bindingpost for the platesand forsecuring theplatestogether... It i'will al'so be apparent that these operations areformed simultaneously,ithns effecting a great saving in time and "laborand materially reducing the cost of product1on. fWhatvwe cla1m as ourinvention 1s:

I y l. In a device of the character described, a

receptacle for receiving a plurality .of battery "plates, and a bindingpost mold supported upon said receptacle and having its lower end openonto said plates. r

I 2. In .a device of the character described,

i 7 plates, means for clamping said plates areceptacle, a plurality ofbattery plates positioned therein, means removably mounted in saidreceptacle for spacing said battery in said receptacle, and a bindingpost mold supported upon. said receptacle and communicating with saidplates.

3. Ina device of the character described,

9 of operativeposition over saidplatesareceptacle for receivinga'plurality of battery'plates; a sectional binding post mold supportedupon said receptacle, and means for moving said mold sections into-andout 4. In a device of thecharacter described,

a receptacle for receiving a plurality of battery, plates, a bindingpost mold support mounted on said receptacle, a pair of thread- 7 edshafts journalledin said support, and com plementary mold sectionscarried by "said shafts and movable into and out of operative positionabove said plates. A

5. In adevice of the character described, a

receptacle for receiving a'plurality ofbattery plates, a binding postmold support mounted on said receptacle, complementary mold sectionsmounted on said support and movable thereonv to operative position oversaid battery plates, a platform carried by said receptacle at one sidethereof, and means in cludingan actuating member slidably mountplatformfor moving said: mold edges thereof for permitting molten metal i pouredinto said mold to flow upon said tongues while preventing flowing'ofsaid moltenmetal over said plates.

7 In a device of the character described,

a receptacle for receiving a plurality of battery plates with theprojecting tongues thereof aligned, a binding post mold support mountedon said receptacle, and-complementary mold sections movably mounted onsaid I support, each section beingprovided; with a recess adapted tocooperate with the recess of, the other sectionto form; a chamber forreceiving molten metal,and a'member detachably secured to one of saidmold sections said member being provided with fingers adapted to extendbetween adjacent tongues below the top edges thereof for permitting themol- 15% metal to flow upon said tongues while preventing flowing ofsaid molten metal over said plates." i

8. In a device of the character described, a receptacle for receiving aplurality of battery= plates, a binding post mold support mounted onsaid receptacle, complementary mold sections mounted on said support andmovable thereon to operative position over said battery plates, and amember associated with one of said mold sections having its bottomportion formed with spaced fingers adapted to extend between projectingporow upon fl'owingiqf said molten metal over said plates.

i 9. In a device of the'character described, a

' receptacle, aplurality; of battery plates polation, and means for nsaid receptacle.

sitioned therein, top and bottom i separator plates'removablymountedinsaid receptacle for retaining said batteryplates in spaced re-10. Ina device-of thecharacter described, areceptacleihaving oneof itswalls hingedly secured thereto, aplurality of batteryplates positionedin said receptacle, top and bottom separator plates for retaining :said.battery :plates in spaced relation, and means f a ping Said hinged wallagainst said plates, said means comprising a latch member carried bysaid receptacle, and a bolt threadedly engaging saidlatch member and Vmovable; into and out ofengagement with said hinged wall j 11. Inadeviceioif the character described,

' a receptacle for receiving a plurality of'battery'plates, a bindingpost mold support mounted on'said receptacle, saidsupport inshafts.

eluding spaced .yoke membersdetachably secured to said receptacleandhaving their end 7 portions formed, with openings constituting bearings,shafts journalled in saidbearings, p and moldsections mounted on saidshafts.

12. In a device of the character described, .a receptacle for receivinga plurality of'battery plates, a binding post mold support mounted onsaid receptaele,said support in cluding spacedv yoke members havingtheir base portions detachably secured infgrooves, formed in'saidreceptacle, said'yokeshaving their'end portions'forme'd with openingsconstituting bearings, shafts journalled in said bearings, and moldsections mounted on said 13.1111 a deviceof the character described, areceptaclefor supporting apluralityof battery plates with the projectingtongues thereofaligned, axbinding post mold, and meansformounting's'aidmold in a selected one of a plurality of spacedpositions relative to said receptacle to align said mold with saidtongues.

14. In a battery plates with the projecting tongues I removably mountedin said receptacle 'for clamping said plates device of the characterdescribed, a receptacle for supporting a plurality of teryiplates, amold support," a ;binding-post mold. carried by said support, and-meansfor aselected one of two. spaced .position sywhereby saidamold maybepositionedadjacent the center. oradj acent one side of saidreceptacle.v

16. In a device ofthecharacterdescribed," V

a receptacle forre ceiving a plurality of battery plates, top andbottomseparator plates retaining said battery platesin spaced rela'-;

tion, a binding "post mold support "mounted whereby said device may beadapt'edto oper-q 4 ate on diiierent series of plates.

, 17 In a device of the character described,

.mounting said support on said receptacle in I a receptaclefor receivinga plurality of battery plates, and a binding post mold associated withsaid receptacle, said mold including a pair of mold sectionseach' ofwhich is provided with a semi-circularrecess, and means-for moving saidmold sections into juxtaposition to each other whereby saidsemi-circular recesses cooperate to form a cylindrical chamber forforming av bin'ding Y 18. In a ing recesses which cooperate to form acylindrical chamber, and a bushing detachably mounted in'said chamberfor regulating the size thereof, said bushing being rovided withavthreaded portion adaptedduring the devi'ceof the character described;a receptacle, a-sectional mold associated with saidreceptacle, thesections of said mold havmolding operation to form threads on 'a bind- 7ing post molded in said chamber.

19.; In a device of the character described, a receptaclefor receiving aplurality ofbattery plates, a sectional mold "associated with saidreceptacle and having a portion form ing a chamber for molding a bindingpost, a

ing. s

In testimony natures. T

- GEORGE A; SENTKOWSKI;

' -ALEXANDER SENTKOWSKI.

her, and an adaptor fitted within said bushwhereofwe alfix our sigtweensaid support and said receptacle for supporting the former from thelatter, said connections permitting positioning of said support injaselected "one of a plurality of spaced positionswhereby said mold may bealigned with said tongues.

-: 15. In a device of thecharacterdescribed,

a. receptacle for receiving a'fplurality of batbushing detachablymounted in said chaini

